New York Jets Braelon Allen has been a revelation as a rookie, last week becoming became the youngest player in the Super Bowl era and second-youngest player since 1933 to score an NFL touchdown. The reason he dropped in the draft, he said, came down to a fashion choice.
Allen was asked on social media Friday why such a talented back fell into the fourth round of the draft, becoming the 134th overall pick.
“Everyone wanted to see me run in my underwear to decide if I was a good football player,” he said.
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Allen was referring to the NFL Combine and Wisconsin’s pro day, where he did not run the 40-yard dash, a crucial metric that scouts obsess over. Allen, though, was recovering from an ankle injury and running straight ahead isn’t his strength anyway, so he skipped the 40 and was punished for it.
It’s another example of how scouts miss out on good players because of their obsession with what metrics they see at the combine. Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell is someone who see the flaws with this approach.
“I guess there is somewhat of a spectacle,” Campbell said last year. “To me it’s more, at this point, just to be able to sit with these guys. They get the medical during the week, but for us to be able to do these interviews is to me the biggest part of all this. It’s not even the working out portion. To me, you grade them off the tape, you don’t grade off somebody out here in pajamas, running the 40 with no defender around.”
We’ve written before about how homoerotic the spectacle is of what has been dubbed the “Underwear Olympics,” where ultra-fit jocks parade around for scouts and coaches in tight compression workout wear (no underwear, alas, these days).
Many gay football fans (and tons of straight NFL obsessives as well) love the Combine precisely because it lets them see a player minus bulky shoulder pads and a helmet. For teams, though, it’s often hit and miss and Allen’s decision to not run in his underwear was the Jets’ gain.
